Arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia in a HIV-positive patient treated with antiretroviral therapy

Abstract

The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has substantially modified the clinical history and epidemiology of HIV infection with an important decline in infective causes of death and an increase in non-infective comorbidities particularly in cardiovascular complications. HIV infection has been related to an increased cardiovascular risk due to the presence of three factors: classic cardiovascular risk factors (shared with the general population), HIV infection itself (indirectly due to the inflammation and directly due to viral molecule) and ART-related chronic metabolic alterations. We describe a peculiar case of metabolic alteration in an HIV infected patient on ART with particular attention to the diagnosis and therapeutic aspects. Giving the higher cardiovascular risk of this specific population it is advisable that the clinician performs a frequent re-assessment of risk factors and cardiovascular organ damage. An early detection of metabolic alteration must lead to an aggressive specific therapy; this must be done by taking care of the HIV-infected subject fragility and the interactions with ART.